The Los Angeles Kings are on the brink of a crushing postseason exit. The Kings went ahead 2-0 in their first-round series with the Edmonton Oilers. However, they have lost each of the last three games. And it has Jim Hiller’s team on the cliff’s edge of elimination.
Game 5 was an especially brutal performance from Los Angeles. The Kings managed just 22 shots on goal to Edmonton’s 46. Goalie Darcy Kuemper certainly put his best foot forward, making 43 saves. However, the Los Angeles offense offered just one goal of support for the veteran netminder.
Hiller’s Kings have been through this before. In fact, this opponent is no stranger to them. Los Angeles and Edmonton are meeting for the fourth straight year in round one of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Los Angeles has lost each of the previous three meetings.
Ahead of Game 6 on Thursday night, Hiller accepts what happened in Game 5. And he believes his team can bounce back in a do-or-die moment.
“Each time after we played poorly our team responded with really, really strong game. I know our guys, we’re ready to bounce back. We’ll accept the last game, played poorly, turned over the puck so many times we didn’t give ourselves a chance,” the Kings coach said, via Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period.
Kings’ Jim Hiller Gives Flowers to Darcy Kuemper
As mentioned, Kuemper put in an incredible performance in Game 5. He made timely saves that kept Los Angeles in the contest throughout. And he withstood the barrage of shots he faced from an Oilers team desperate to take the series lead.
His performance did not go unnoticed, either. Hiller acknowledged the play of his goalie on Tuesday night. Unfortunately, one aspect of a game cannot sustain a team to victory. Especially in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
“Our goaltender gave us a chance, but they were just better in every way. We can’t just look at one part of our game and think that was acceptable or was good enough,” the Kings coach said, via NHL.com’s Derek Van Diest.
Los Angeles Needs to Prove It in Game 6
It’s an unfortunate turn of events for the Kings, to say the least. At one point, it seemed as if this team was destined to sweep the Oilers in the first round. Edmonton put up some resistance, but they couldn’t outlast Los Angeles in a shootout.
Now, the tables have turned in the complete opposite direction. Los Angeles is the team that cannot sustain this sort of play. They are the ones constantly on the back foot. They made the Stanley Cup Playoffs on their own merits. Now, it’s time for this team to prove its worth.
“We’ve had a pretty good season to this point, guys have put in a massive effort thus far. We have to win a game. I know it’s a cliché and it doesn’t look very good, but we have to go in and win a hockey game. They took it away from us,” Hiller said, via Van Diest.
“We have to go win a hockey game and take it back. That’s the way it goes — there are no tricks here. We’ve proven we’re a pretty good hockey team, so if you’re a pretty good hockey team, go in there and take it back.”
Kings Coach ‘Accepts’ Game 5 Loss to Oilers